Ravenpaw's Farewell/Chapter 6
Chapter description :At dawn, Ravenpaw awakes from beneath a bush. He manages to catch a pigeon for Riley and Bella. The young ginger she-cat narrows her eyes as if to show she understood the point of following the warrior code. He feels a pang of compassion for both of them and thinks they are very brave despite the fact they are still kits. The black tom then asks them if they want to learn battle moves. Both kits become excited by the prospect and Ravenpaw notes the place where they are standing makes for an ideal training ground. He decides to demonstrate the hunter's crouch and explains how it can be a way to attack an enemy. The young cats do decently well and Ravenpaw drags a stick out for them to practice with. The stick becomes broken after both cats land on it. :Bella begs the older black cat to teach them something else. He shows the kits the front paw blow and both cats practice it. Ravenpaw praises them after some time and flicks his tail for the young cats to continue the journey. Reaching an abandoned Twoleg den, the black tom senses there aren't any Twolegs around and lets the kits explore the structure. Riley and Bella begin to play and Ravenpaw becomes worried that something will overhear them. He sees a shadow emerge from the doorway behind him and he whirls around, battle-ready. He is shocked to see Barley standing in front of him. :Ravenpaw suppresses his excitement, since he remembers the argument they had. Barley apologizes to him for trying to prevent his friend from helping his kin and states his friend doesn't deserve him. Ravenpaw bounds forward to comfort his barn mate to tell him not to be a mouse-brain. He tells the black-and-white tom that everything had been hard during the journey, but they're okay, especially now that he's here. Barley replies by saying he thought the barn was his home, but his home is where Ravenpaw is. The stout tom takes a step back to say he thought Ravenpaw left without him because he didn't want to be with him anymore. Ravenpaw meows that wouldn't ever happen. The small black tom says he's sorry he left without his friend and has missed him with every step he took. :Bella and Riley are excited to see Barley again. The tabby she-cat tells him about the dog they evaded in the hedge and he becomes alarmed. Riley then tells him they stayed quiet until the animal went away. Bella also tells him that Ravenpaw taught them battle moves. Barley is glad to hear how things have been going. He asks if they were making camp here or continuing their journey. The kits decide on the latter and race out of the Twoleg den. Ravenpaw affectionately tells Barley he knows how to motivate them to which Barley tells the small tom he is proud of him for doing this. Walking underneath the sunshine, the young cats call back to let the older cats know whatever they found, be it a new scent, a river ripple, or a leaf. :Barley notes his niece and nephew are observant as the kits pause to study a dragonfly resting on a reed. Toward dusk, the company of cats stop at a waterfall leading into a pool. The barn cats rest themselves on boulders and the young cats play near the water. Bella is horrified watching her brother fall in, until he emerges with a fish in his jaws. He shows it to the loners and he and his sister eat it. Barley murmurs to his friend he's done a great job and Ravenpaw replies he's pleased with them for being so brave. The stout tom leans closer and states he should be. Characters Major *Barley *Riley *Bella }} Mentioned }} Notes and references Category:Novellas Category:Ravenpaw's Farewell Category:Chapter subpages